McALLEN, Texas – Jose Angel Saavedra Moreno, 23, of Mexico, has been sentenced to 210 months imprisonment for possessing with intent to distribute approximately two kilograms of methamphetamine “Ice,” United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez at a hearing this afternoon in McAllen will be followed by a five-year-term of supervised release.

Saavedra was charged by criminal complaint in September 2010 and was subsequently arrested and indicted in December 2010. He later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. At his plea on June 7, 2011, he admitted that on Sept. 9, 2010, he met with another person to make arrangements to hire a driver to transport narcotics from McAllen, Texas to Atlanta, Ga. During that meeting, Saavedra provided a Texas Certificate of Title for the vehicle that was to be used to transport the controlled substance and instructed him to have the title placed in that individual’s own name. The following day, the individual retrieved the loaded vehicle from a location in McAllen and, shortly thereafter, the vehicle was stopped by law enforcement. During a search of the vehicle, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) discovered the methamphetamine concealed within a metal container inside the gas tank.

In arriving at the lengthy prison term, the court took into consideration Saavedra’s role in the offense. He has been in custody without bond since his arrest where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

ICE-HSI investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Linda Requénez.